


The Paths Life Gave Us

by BF110C4



Series: Paths [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Gen, Sister-Sister Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-28
Updated: 2015-07-28
Packaged: 2018-04-11 17:39:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4445615
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BF110C4/pseuds/BF110C4
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For Ruby her little sister Yang is her entire world, for Yang her big sister Ruby sometimes tries a little too hard. Both of them have a lot to learn on their way to become huntresses.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Paths Life Gave Us

Chapter 01: Blooming in Adversity

“Sisters function as safety nets in a chaotic world simply by being there for each other.” – Carol Saline

 

When Mama had been absent in the morning she hadn’t been too worried, it wasn’t rare for one parent or the other to be called in the middle of the night to hunt down a monster or two and then return with either an apple pie or a large paper bag filled with cinnamon cookies, but this time after dressing herself when she had gone to wake Taiyang up to prepare breakfast he had been groggy, well groggier than usual, and then he had been scared -and daddy wasn’t afraid of anything so this was so really, really bad- and he had gone up and started calling everyone on his scroll, from Mister Grey the head teacher of Signal to her Uncle Crow to a Mister Oz in the Hunter’s Association, then he had started to cry.

Naturally then Yang started to cry too, and Ruby couldn’t stop herself either, they were hungry, they were worried and they were scared. But the worst had yet to come, as the hours passed daddy seemed… gone, as if someone took him away and left behind one of those creepy dolls with glass eyes. And then he started talking about Mama Raven and how she had left them and how Mama wasn’t really Ruby’s Mama but only Yang’s.

She knew that, Mama Raven told them about mummy Summer and how she had the same the same silver eyes and how they shared the same smile, but it still hurt. Finally she could take it no more and locked herself in the cupboard and when her sister went there and started knocking she could only cover her ears and yell her to go away.

But now Ruby could no longer hear neither her daddy or Yang crying, and her tummy told her just how hungry she was, so she tentatively leaved the safely of the cupboard. Dad was now sleeping on the table, a half empty bottle of Uncle Crow’s favorite grog (that Taiyang called horse piss when he thought she couldn’t hear him) on the floor. She tentatively tried to wake him up, but no matter how hard she shake him he wouldn’t stir even a little and the smell was disgusting so she let him 

Once she arrived to the kitchen she started looking for something to eat, she grimaced at discovering that the sneak of Yang had won the race to the cookies, she didn’t even like cinnamon, but there might be some pie in the fridge… 

But then she was distracted from her search for food by the open door, she was forbidden from letting Yang go out to the yard without her, and the last time she had forgotten Mama Raven had left her standing in the corner for two whole hours and this time she might get even angrier.

“Yang, where are you? Come inside, if you give me some cookies I can share the pie, I’ll even let you lick the plate.” She started looking through the large yard, an advantage of not living inside the densely populated city, but she wasn’t in the back, and the front was where the cars were so usually they couldn’t…

All thoughts of food, of her sleeping father, of even of her missing Mama were gone from her mind when she saw the outer door open. The thick ferracrete walls were modelled after the protections surrounding the City of Patch, and just like there it was there to protect them from the Grimm that occasionally appeared in the nearby wilderness. She still remembered the time that a Borbatusk attacked the house by itself, managing to slightly dent the steel door before the entire family investigated the commotion, while they were hiding behind Raven legs Taiyang quickly broke the monsters legs and then dragged the beast towards them. The feeling of its breath while it desperately tried to take a bite out of them before Raven cut its head still gave her the occasional nightmare.

If her sister was loose outside then…

“Yang, please come in!” She fearfully peaked at the door, and to make it worse Taiyang’s discarded scroll that she didn’t even knew was on the floor started ringing. Mindful of any Grimm behind the safe walls she picked it up.

“Tai, I´m on Quilt’s ferry. I’ll be there in two hours tops, and then we can discuss the letter my sister sent you.”

“UncleCrowdadwontwakeupandYangisoutsideandimscaredandmamaismissingandIdontknowwhattodo.”

“Ruby, is that you? Breathe deep, slow down and repeat what you say.”

“Mama is missing, and daddy is sleeping on the table and won’t wake up, and Yang took his scroll and is outside and I’m scaredandmamaismissingandIdontknowwhattodo.”

“Get inside and close the door. I’ll be there shortly!”

“But Yang…”

“Dear I know and I’ll find her, just stay inside.” All the while she kept peeking through the door, hoping that her sister was within sight when she saw the cookie. Carefully she leaved the security of the walls to take a closer look, It was more like half a cookie, with the other half a few feet away, and afterwards other and other… just like the story Raven liked to read them at night about the cute brave sisters (they were supposed to be two brave friends, but Yang and Ruby had corrected that serious mistake with the help of crayons and lots of paper) who escaped from the witch’s forest with the help bread crumps and some magic dust. 

“Uncle Crow, I know were Yang is going, she left a trail of crumps, like the story!”

“It doesn’t matter dear, just go inside. Please, is too dangerous.”

“I can’t. Yang is my responsibility, Mama told me, Daddy told me, even you told me.” With that she touched the gate opener function on the scroll closing the heavy automatic door behind her and followed the clues left by her sister.

Apparently her uncle heard the door, so he completely changed his tune. “God’s Horns, okay… Okay, take the scroll and search for an icon with a bunch of concentric circles, it should be red.”

“A bunch of what?” 

“Circles, like the ones that the water makes when you throw a stone in the pond. Once you find it touch it until is green. Done? Good, with it I’m going to find you wherever you are. Now where do you think your sister is headed?”

“To the forest to the left of the house, she ran out of cookies but there’s only one road.”

“Let me think… there is a Hunter’s shack a few miles away, it’s barely more than a barn for storing vehicles and some emergency rations. Yang couldn’t have gone too far, so just go there pick her up and get back home. And Ruby, if something happens just run. Do you understand Ruby, just run and don’t turn back.”

After that he shut up, only occasionally asking if she heard of saw something and half telling, half begging for her to go back. Ruby steadfastly refused, no matter how much she wanted to do so, instead following the road as fast as she could while ignoring all the scary stuff she was imagining was behind the trees.

Normally Ruby was considered by as an unending source of energy, one that her Mama had taken the time and effort to run into the ground every morning with an hour or two of squats, sit-ups and a little race around the house every morning. And while she wasn’t exactly aware of how grateful she should have been for it as she half-ran, half-jogged through the forest the fact was that the trail that took her sister hours to traverse, she covered in a little more than one. 

She found Yang resting on a fallen trunk, still dressed on her Pj’s and with none of her usual energy, Ruby noted with horror that her legs and arms were bloody, probably from dealing with one stubborn bush that covered the road half a mile back, and while those weren’t the worst cuts either of them ever had it was still jarring when taking into account how tired the little blonde looked. 

“Yang, are you okay? Yang!” Ruby wasted no time hugging her little sister. She was cold, from the mud in her hair it was obvious she had fallen into a puddle and the wet clothes had sapped her heat mercilessly. Unlike Yang she took the time to properly dress herself in the morning before… so she was warmly dressed, including her favorite hood.

As she used her red hood/heroic cloak /security blanket to warm up her sister she started to stir. “Ruby, is mommy with you? Daddy was saying horrible things, that mommy left us, and that you weren’t my sister, and that mommy didn’t love us anymore, and I want mommy to tell him how much of a stupid head he is.” She was openly crying, and Ruby was already joining her when the scroll started ringing again. 

“Ruby, are you okay? You stopped moving.”

“Uncle Crow, I found Yang!”

“Thank the heavens, Yang, are you okay?” I hastily gave her the scroll so that she could answer. “Yeah, I’m fine… Is mommy with you Uncle Crow?”

She could hear the relief in her uncle’s voice at he heard her sister’s hold back a sob before answering. “No… she had to go to a trip, but I’ll be there to pick you up shortly so just stay there. Ruby, how is she?” 

Ruby took the scroll back from her sister without even a token fight, sure sign she was too tired to even chatter. “Umm, she’s cold and wet and she’s falling asleep.”

“And what about you?”

“Fine uncle, I just want to…” Her answer was interrupted by a sound, it was far away but it still made her heart beat like a drum. Before she could convince herself it had been her imagination she heard it again and this time she couldn’t stop herself from shivering. 

“Ruby, what’s going on?” In response she could only utter a single whisper, hoping that at least Yang didn’t hear it. “howl…” 

Immediately her Uncle adopted a businesslike tone, “Ruby, facing the road you came from, where do you hear the howls?”

“From my back and the left… I think? They sound a little too far and I don’t know for sure.”

“Good. Far is good, farther is even better. Take Yang and start moving back here, I’m close so I’ll meet you half way, and Ruby, which is the rule number one for a Huntress?”

“Stay calm.” 

“Exactly, Grimm can smell fear, so I need you to be brave and get here. As long as you’re brave you’ll be okay. So take Yang, and walk towards me and no Grimm will bother you.”

“Yes, uncle.”

She nugged her sister awake, “Yang, wake up, we need to go with Uncle Crow.”

However the first complication presented itself. “Five more minutes.”

“Yang, we need to go now.” Ruby insisted but Yang was too tired. “Don’t wanna, my feet hurt.”

“Come on, I carry you.” With that she kneed before her sister, inviting her to go piggyback. For a moment nothing happened, and she was worried that Yang wouldn’t want that either so the relief when her little hands surrounded her neck erased all discomfort.

As soon as her sister was properly accommodated she started walking as fast as she could, going through the most even parts of the road when she could while getting Yang to sing her out loud to keep both distracted and prevent the Grimm from sensing their fear. 

At one point her sister fall asleep once more forcing her to frequently readjust her grip, and no matter how much she hurried the terrain was too broken and she was too tired to go any faster, even with the ever approaching howls on her back.

“Almost there dear…” Her uncle told her from the scroll reassuring her that they were close, and incidentally hiding from her the fact that the howls abruptly stopped.

Then she finally saw him, at the far side of the road, waving while extending Black Moon to its rifle form, she wanted to wave back but her hands were occupied keeping Yang on her back. She was about to let her in the ground and wait for h…

“Ruby, run!” She heard both the scroll on her hip and the person’s screams in the front at the same time, just as she suddenly heard the awful growls just behind her. To make things worse her sister was now again fully awake and fearfully trashing, throwing off her balance and making her lose balance, miraculously she didn’t fall, but it was close. She started running, this time giving it her all, while 7.62mm bullets zipped past her and towards the monsters on her back. 

Even as he was firing his sniper rifle with fast and deadly accurate shots her uncle was running towards them, his cape flowing out of him like the wings of his namesake, and eating the last distance in the blink of an eye. It was then she saw her first Beowolf, standing in two feet, a mockery of both humans and dogs, with its black fur contrasting with the white claws and skull, and those red eyes zeroing on her with pure malice.

Unlike the rest of its brethren the not-quite Alpha didn’t come from the back, but it jumped at her from the side from the perfect position to cover itself from with the trees and getting Ruby to literally run to its unsheathed claws. 

…she had been so close. 

Even as she saw it swinging towards her she tried to get away, to reach her uncle who was so close, and yet too far away, then she simply saw red and fell to the forest ground.

 

…

 

…

 

She was on the ground.

 

…

 

…

 

She could feel Yang arms and hear her voice, but it felt so far away.

 

…

 

…

 

She could see his uncle flashing in front of her, the blade of his scythe flashing as he decapitated the monster, red petals surrounding both.

 

…

 

…

 

So beautiful…

 

…

 

…

 

She felt her uncle’s hands firmly but carefully checking every inch of her body. “Ruby, does it hurt anywhere? No? You’re right. God’s Horns you’re all right.”

He took both girls to his 6x6, carefully keeping watch in case of another attack, once they were all inside he got a couple of small bottles from the first aid box in the back and forced Ruby to drink it. The medicine -because only a medicine could have such a foul taste- burned her throat as she drank it and she was sure that if there had been anything on her stomach she would have thrown up, but the buzz on her head stopped, and the dark silhouettes she had been seeing materialized into the forms of her uncle and sister.

“Ruby, look at me. Good, now follow my finger with your eyes.” After blinking to remove the remaining cobwebs from her eyes she did so, earning a smile from her usually grumpy uncle. “The old Everfall brew, nothing better for acute aura exhaustion. Come on, were going home.”

She fuzzed a little over her sister, reassuring herself that the Beowolf wasn’t able to touch Yang, and that her own bruises were slowly fading as she regained a little of her aura. She ate a couple of snack bars while her uncle put an ear bud and had a tense conversation with someone -probably daddy- on the other side of his scroll. She tried to ignore the angry whispers and sleep a little, but the way her heart was tumbling prevented her eyes from resting.

Once they crossed the door they were received by their father and if she hadn’t seen Taiyang in the morning she would have thought that it was a different person altogether, his clothes were pungent with the smell of booze and puke, his hair usually bright and well-kept in a ponytail was a mess, and instead of looking like the towering mass of mighty muscles wrestled with an Ursa in the mornings to get the blood running was a sick, weak looking man green to the gills. But for Ruby the greatest change was in his face, it no longer held a never ending smile, but instead was filled with worry and guilt, and his eyes where just dead. 

When they came in and he gave them one of his bone-crushing hugs, she answered in kind, glad to see him at least doing something normal, but Yang, who loved those the most, fought back trying to push him back. 

“Leave me alone. Where’s mommy?” 

“Yang, mommy ran away. She left a note and…” With that Yang started punching and biting. “Liar! I don’t believe you. Mommy wouldn’t…” Ruby herself couldn’t hold back a sob and the renewal of tears. She had suspected that from his broken comments in the morning, but for him to clearly confirm it…

“But she did Yang, I’m sorry but she’s not coming back.”

“No, liar. I hate you! I hate you!” 

Those three words hurt him far more than any of the previous attacks, releasing her out of shock and as soon as he did she ran towards their room, Ruby hot on her heels. Barely preventing her from closing the door on her face she found her getting a backpack and carelessly filling it with clothes at random. 

“Yang, what are you doing’”

“I’m going to find mommy.” 

“Yang, you can’t, it’s too dangerous and we don’t know where to look. Uncle Crow said he was going to find her and…” 

“Shut up! She’s not your mommy and you don’t car…” Ruby watched her sister on the floor, she hadn’t meant to slap her but her hand had moved by its own volition…

“Yang, I’m sorry I…” She kneed to pick her up, but as soon as she did Yang recoiled like a hurt animal and ran towards her corner of the room, and then began wailing. Ruby watched her traitorous hand for a moment then the place her sister was hugging herself still draped on the red cape. 

Then mechanically she stood up and collected the discarded clothes, folding them as Mama Raven taught her, tears silently falling from her eyes and petals slowly drifting from her as the smell of withering roses filled the room.

**Author's Note:**

> On Taiyang: I never liked his character in RWBY, we do not know a lot about him, but what we do know is that at one point after the death of Summer Rose he told Yang about the fact that Summer, the person who cared for her for as long as she could remember, was not her real mother and that she had abandoned her, and then leaved his children unsupervised long enough for Yang to ran away with Ruby into a place outside whatever defenses they got against Grimm in Patch. 
> 
> That said in this fic it wasn’t completely his fault, in order to leave the house Raven took the decision to drug Taiyang with a fairly innocuous sedative and calculated the dosage so that he would wake up in the morning in time to take care of the girls, however she didn’t expected for him to take her goodbye letter so hard, or that a notorious abstemious who hates the taste of alcohol would drink even a cup of the local equivalent of tequila, creating a very dangerous chemical reaction that dropped him like a rock. 
> 
> Also I do know the name is Qrow, but for girls as young as Yang and Ruby I can see them nicknaming him Crow, plus is fun for him to correct them every time they do so. 
> 
>  
> 
> By the way, this is the first thing I write in a long time and English is my second language so I'll appreciate any critic, suggestion and spell/grammar correction.


End file.
